


Chests and hearts

by Fantasticoncer



Series: Pirates and dreams [2]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, BAMF Elizabeth Swann, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Family Drama, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Jack being Jack, Male-Female Friendship, Married Couple, Prophetic Dreams, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Sister-Sister Relationship, Strained Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25770703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantasticoncer/pseuds/Fantasticoncer
Summary: Two years after the events with the Black Pearl, the life of Catherine Norrington née Swann is about to be thrown upside down once again.Her husband has disappeared in disgrace and left her, leaving her to face the rumouring inhabitants of Port Royal on her own and now, her sister and almost brother-in-law are arrested for helping Jack Sparrow escape.She will do anything to make sure her family is safe, even if it means saying goodbye to her former life and embrace that she once detested: piracyAnd who is that mysterious woman that she's seeing in her dreams
Relationships: Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner, James Norrington/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Pirates and dreams [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820389
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	1. What has happened

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.

_She opened her eyes to see nothing but mist and frowned in confusion. Was this the Black Pearl again? It couldn't be. Things with that were solved years ago. She slowly took a few steps forward to see if anything changed, but it didn't. It was the exact same mist, so thick that she could barely see anything in general. She stretched out her hands and they disappeared as well._

_She quickly pulled them back to her body, unsure what would happen or what she'd come across. "Hello?" She asked, feeling rather stupid about calling out. No one answered her. She slowly walked further, trying to see if she would get anywhere and hoping that she would_ _. The mist surrounded her for quite a while, making her think that she'd be engulfed by it forever before it slowly seemed to ease up_ _. In the distance, she saw something lying motionless on the ground and as she tried to get closer, she was knocked back and images flooded her brain._

_She saw herself, her sister Elizabeth and Will get arrested for helping Jack escape_ _. She saw her future brother-in-law get asked to retrieve something of Jack. She saw her father nobly try to free her and her sister from prison, only to get arrested in the process. She saw Will get manipulated into the service of a horrifying squid man. She saw herself and Elizabeth escape on a trade ship._ _The last thing that she saw was a sword stabbing someone and hearing a scream of pain._

_\----------------------_

Catherine Norrington née Swann shot up straight in bed, taking deep breaths to calm herself down at realising it had just been a very bad dream. Her arm immediately and instinctively reached for the space next to her, only to touch cold sheets. Her eyes closed at remembering that she was all alone, like she had been in the past few months. 

After their wedding not even two years ago, James had focused himself on capturing Jack again. It had slowly taken him over, no matter how hard she tried to distract him with everything she could think of. It was like he slowly turned into a man she didn't know. Not long after Will had proposed to Elizabeth, he had gone to chase Jack once again. From what she had heard, he had sailed his ship into a hurricane, killing all of his men. Disgraced, he had briefly returned to Port Royal to resign and quickly left after that. 

She had only found out when it was too late and he had already left the town. The only thing she now had of him was the house they had briefly lived in during the happy times of their marriage, the rings he had given her that were still around her finger and a letter he had given her father on the day that he left. Lighting a candle, she pulled it out of the drawer of the bedside table and read it, even though she knew the words by heart. 

_~~My~~ Catherine. _

_I'm so sorry._

_I gave the order to sail through that dammed hurricane. I was so focused on capturing Sparrow and his men that I completely ignored the safety of my own men. Their blood is on my hands and will always be there for as long as I live. Their lives were my responsibility and I failed that completely, just as I failed to bring them home to their family_ _safely._

_I'm not worthy of you or your love. You always were the light of my life while we were courting and even before that, but I'm not deserving of your light anymore. I don't deserve to even be in the same room as you and I'm sorry. I know I wasn't the husband you wanted or needed in the past few months and that hurts me more than I can say. I promised to look after you and I failed that as well._ _You need someone who can really give you what you need and that won't be me._

_Please find someone else who can make you happy, who won't take you for granted and continue your life without me._ _Whatever you do,_ _don't look for me. I don't deserve it. I hope that one day, you will forgive me for everything. You have a good heart, Catherine and whoever you choose will be lucky to have you in their life just like I was. I just wish I had realised how lucky I was before it was too late_

_I wish you all the best._

_All my love,_

_James_

Catherine sighed deeply as she put the letter away again and closed the drawer again. She had secretly paid a sailor to look for him anyway and he had written back to her that he had found her husband in Tortuga, still wearing his commodore clothes and getting utterly and completely drunk every night. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. He was getting drunk while she was miserable without him

The last few months had been incredibly hard for her. Many of the soldiers who died also had families who were all grieving and in that grief, found that they needed a scapegoat to focus all their anger on. With the man who had ordered the fatal move gone, they had focused on her.She went from one of the most prestigious and influential people in town to almost an outcast. Only her sister, Will, her father, Eleanor and their other servants as well as some of the kinder people in town were still talking to her.

She had at first stayed in James's home with Eleanor, until a brother of one soldier had smashed a window in and shouted he hated her, until being escorted away by soldiers. It had shaken her to the core and she hadn't slept that night, hugging a pillow and wising James was there with her. She was now staying in her old home with her father and Elizabeth, helping her sister prepare for her own wedding.

Will and Elizabeth had kindly offered to postpone their wedding, but Catherine didn't want to hear it. She helped her sister prepare, no matter how much it hurt to see how excited her sister was and remembering her own excitement for her own wedding. That brought her thoughts back to what she had seen in her dream. She had to protect her family from those terrible visions.

There was no doubt that the disgusting man she had seen arrest them was already on his way here with the wedding being a bit more than a week away. She needed a plan. Blowing out the candle and lying down, she stayed awake as she tried to think of options, before finally managing to make the basic of a plan. Her sister was probably going turned hate her, but she had no choice. She would protect them or her name wasn't Catherine Norrington 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really couldn't wait, so here we go. Updates may be irregular though. 
> 
> Read and review. See you next time


	2. An interrupted wedding

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.

It was raining, pouring down really with thunder and lightning really finishing the fact that it something bad was going to happen. The teacups were spilling over with water. The sheet music for the band were ruined and flying away in the wind. In the midst of the depressing picture was Elizabeth Swann sitting in front of the altar, deep in thought and feeling that something was very wrong.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she looked around hopefully, only for her eyes to widen in shock at seeing her fiance Will brought forward in chains. Dropping her bouquet, she ran towards him. "Will, why is this happening?" She asked. "I don't know." Will said, trying to comfort her. "You look beautiful." He commented and she showed a tiny smile at that. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding." She replied, just as her father arrived and was stopped by the new soldiers who had arrived that very morning. 

"What is this? How dare you?! Stand your men down at once! Do you hear me?!" A furious Weatherby Swann demanded. Another man turned around. "Governor Weatherby Swann. It's been too long." He said calmly. "Cutler Beckett?" The man asked. "It's "lord" now, actually." Beckett said smugly as his men finally let Weatherby through. "Lord or not, you have no reason and no authority to arrest this man." The governor protested.

In answer, Beckett pulled out an arrest warrant that was seemingly for Will. "This one is for Elizabeth Swan." Weatherby said. "Oh, is it? That's annoying. My mistake. Arrest her." Beckett ordered and his men obeyed, despite protests of both Will and Elizabeth herself. After pulling out the right warrant, Beckett spoke up loudly. "And I have another one for a Mr. James and Mrs. Catherine Norrington. Are they present?" He asked. 

"What are the charges?!" Elizabeth asked loudly, only to be ignored by the despicable man. "Commodore Norrington resigned his commission some months ago." Weatherby said softly, knowing how much heartbreak James had caused his oldest daughter. He had tried to convince the man to stay or at least say goodbye in person, but he hadn't listened. He had thought that the man would make his daughter happy and for a short while, he had. But now, he wished that he had never given his permission to marry Catherine. 

"I don't think that's the answer to the question I asked. And what about his little wife?" Beckett asked and Weatherby shared a look with his daughter. The truth was: Catherine had disappeared. She had gone into town about a week ago and hadn't returned. Search parties had resulted in nothing, making him, Elizabeth and Will worry sick. They had almost called off the wedding, but it had been too late then. 

"Lord Beckett, in the category of questions not answered." Will spoke up loudly to distract him. "We're under the jurisdiction of the king's governor of Port Royal and you will tell us what we're charged with." Elizabeth hissed, now also in chains. "The charge is "conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the crown and empire and condemned to death, for which the..."" Weatherby read, before abruptly stopping.

""For which the punishment, regrettably, is also death." Beckett finished calmly, not regretting it at all. Fair enough, the Norringtons had escaped his grasp for now, but he still had two of the criminals he had to arrest. Such a shame it had to be on their wedding day. He slowly walked forwards. "Do you remember a certain pirate named Jack Sparrow?" He asked. "Captain." Elizabeth and Will said at the same time. Beckett smirked, before letting his men take them away. In the crowd one person adjusted their hat and walked away. 

The next day, Beckett recruited Will to bring him Jack's compass, promising to let him and Elizabeth go if he did. Running into the dungeon, he quickly told Elizabeth about the deal, despite Weatherby protesting that they had to find another way, making a pretty good point about the fact that just because Will was willing to risk his life to save Jack didn't mean that the pirate himself was willing to do the same.

Promising to come back for her, Will left the dungeon. Weatherby watched him go, before turning to his daughter. Standing back up from where she had been kneeling, Elizabeth reached out to her father and he quickly grabbed her hand." Father, I'm worried about Catherine. What if he gets her?" She asked in a whisper. She was genuinely scared that Beckett would get her sister as well and execute her too

"Your sister's smart, Elizabeth. If we cannot find her, then Beckett most certainly won't be able to find her. She will stay out of their reach. I'm sure of it." He replied. Elizabeth gave him a tiny smile and nod, before he left. Still, his daughter's precarious situation kept hounding him throughout the day and he decided to do something about it. He wrote a letter to a captain who was a friend of him, asking him to bring Elizabeth back to England, wind blowing from an open window behind him. Standing up to deliver it, he stopped at hearing a voice.

"Don't." A familiar voice said and he quickly turned around to see someone standing right in front of the open window, their head kept low and their face hidden by a big hat. Short hair hovered over their shoulder. "Who are you?" How did you get here?" He asked and the person lifted their head. Weatherby felt his legs shake as he stared at the woman in front of him. "Catherine?" He asked in shock. 

Catherine smiled at him. "You know, if you didn't want anyone breaking in, you really shouldn't have your office on the first floor." She said jokingly, her new male clothing looking rather good on her. Weatherby felt his lip tremble as he reached out to her. She quickly ran towards him and hugged him. "Oh, my beautiful girl. Where were you? We were worried sick." He whispered as he held her tightly. 

"I'm sorry, but I had to disappear to avoid getting arrested." She whispered as she buried her face into her father's chest and held him just as tightly. "What do you mean?" He asked in confusion, pulling back to look at her. She sighed deeply and pulled him back to his desk. Sitting him down on his chair and taking a seat on the desk, she told him about what she had seen. He was absolutely shocked at hearing it. "That's why you stopped me from taking the letter to the captain." He said and she nodded.

"I refuse to let you be a slave to Beckett and his games. You need to get out of here as soon as you can, but you must go alone." She said and he took a breath, before reluctantly starting to write a letter. Once it was done, he signed it and handed it to her. "Take care of your sister, alright?" He asked and she nodded, before hugging him tightly, not knowing if she'd ever see him again. Pulling back, she smiled at him and turned to leave.

"Catherine." He said and she turned back. "Make yourself dirty. People won't pay attention to you if you look like a beggar." He said, giving his daughter one last advice and she smiled and nodded, before jumping out of the window. Weatherby watched her go and disappear into the distance. Not many people knew that the wall around his mansion still had a hole from the pirate attack. He just hoped that his daughters would be alright. 

That night, a soldier brought Elizabeth food without saying a word and left again. Grabbing the tray, she noticed that a small package was hidden underneath it in a dark blanket, filled with men clothing in roughly her size. Looking up at the door, she noticed that it was still open. Grabbing the clothing, she fled into the night. On the way there, she came across a gun and a sword and immediately grabbed them as well. Sneaking out, she went to pay him a visit and made him sign the letters of mark, quickly leaving after that. 

Once she was gone, Beckett turned towards a dark corner. "You know, you Swann women really like pointing a gun in my face." He said as Catherine appeared from the dark corner, still wearing her guard uniform. "You just have a very shootable face." She replied calmly, holding out the letter in her hands. "A letter signed by my father, giving you control over Port Royal in his stead." She said, pulling the letter back at the last moment. 

"What do you want?" He asked in slight frustration. "For you to make my father leave in peace. You will tell the people that he was sent to England in shame and you will leave him alone after that." She said and he smirked at her. "Done." He said, before taking the letter and reading it while Catherine left. He watched her go with a smirk as he held the letter in his hands, before folding it up and putting it away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never quite understood the opening of the movie. It looks cool and all, but why is Elizabeth waiting all alone while she technically should be the last one to arrive? 
> 
> Oh, well. Next chapter, we'll really go into the plot of the movie
> 
> Read and review. See you next time.


	3. Tortuga again

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.

The _Edinburgh Trader_ , a merchant vessel, was sailing out of Port Royal with new goods. Just a day in, one of the crew found a discarded wedding dress. Soon several members were fighting over it, until their captain arrived and put a stop on it. No one took any notice of the cabin boy working on the railing. Elizabeth had donned the clothes the soldier had given her and no one had realised she was actually a woman

The superstitious crew believed that the ship was haunted by the ghost of a woman. "There's a female presence amongst us here, sir. All the men, they can feel it." One of the crew said, not knowing how right he was. Another believed it was the spirit of a lady widowed before her wedding and was now searching for her husband who was lost at sea. One man wanted to throw the dress into the sea, but the first man protested that, saying that it would "anger the spirit." Elizabeth smirked at hearing that.

A snort made her look up to see a slender man watching his bickering colleagues with a smirk. "Almost ridiculous what some people believe." He muttered. "You don't believe in the supernatural?" Elizabeth asked, making her voice go lower. "I only believe in what we can see and ghosts aren't none of that." He answered, smirking as if thinking of a personal joke, before the captain ordered everyone to search for the woman. 

The man, whose name Elizabeth later learned was Charles, went with her through the ship, looking for a woman she knew they wouldn't find. During the search, there were times she thought her companion looked familiar, but didnt know from where. Finding nothing, the crew let go of the subject, although they kept the dress. This brought Elizabeth on a idea. She took the dress and started to sow wires in it. "What are you doing?" A voice asked and Elizabeth jumped.

Whirling around, she saw that it was Charles. "You're the woman we were looking for, aren't you?" He asked in that odd, low voice of his. "Please don't tell anyone. I need to go somewhere and this was my only way out." She pleaded and Charles held up his hands. "Hey, easy. I'm not telling anybody anything if you explain what you're doing." He said. Elizabeth sighed in relief. "I need to get to Tortuga and if I need to convince a bunch of superstitious sailors to do it, then so be it." She said. "Why do you want to go there?" Charles asked in a disgusted tone.

"You've been there before?" Elizabeth asked. "Once, a couple of years ago. Not a place I'd recommend visiting or would go to again." He answered. "Well, I need to find someone and Tortuga is the first place on the list." She replied as she continued sowing. Charles sat down next to her and Elizabeth glanced at him. "Were you ever married?" She asked to fill the silence. "I was once." Charles muttered, looking down at his hands.

"Did she die?" She asked carefully, realising she had hit a sore spot." Ran off. Apparently, I wasn't what was needed." He answered. "Then, she was a fool." She said and he smiled. "Thank you." He muttered. "You're welcome, although, I'm engaged." She said jokingly and he chuckled. "Will you help me?" She asked and he chuckled. "It would be my pleasure." He answered. 

That night, Elizabeth put her plan into motion with help from Charles, standing on the mast and using the wires to make her dress move like a marionette. Wildly swinging the dress around once she got the captain's attention, she knocked a lantern over and it started to light up the mark she and Charles had made. The men didn't notice it at first as they thought the sign was in the sea, until a "panicking" Charles got their attention on the burning "TORTUGA" written on the deck, smirking up to Elizabeth behind their backs. She smirked back

In Tortuga, Jack was recruiting more men to settle his debt with Davy Jones, having already sent Will there. It was a slow-moving process, which wasn't helped by a familiar face walking up towards the table. "And what's your story?" Gibbs, who was doing the interviews, asked. "My story? It's exactly the same as yours, only one chapter behind." The man began slowly.

Gibbs felt his jaw fell as he recognised the voice from his job in the navy and started to recognise the man's face underneath all the filth and dirt. "I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, my marriage and my life." The man continued, taking the bottle of rum from the table and taking a large swig.

"Commodore?" Gibbs asked in absolute shock. What was James Norrington doing here? What on earth had happened to him? His once pristine clothing was filthy and ripped. His once white navy wig was a mix of grey and brown from filth and dirt and strands of the man's natural brown hair were slipping underneath it. In short: he looked like a complete mess.

"No, not anymore. Weren't you listening?" James spat, before leaning forwards and ignoring Jack trying to escape by hiding behind a branch of a plant and walking away like that. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would have, if not for the hurricane." He hissed. "Lord. You didn't try to sail through it?" Gibbs whispered in horror. Even Jack wasn't that foolish. "So, do I make your crew or not?" James asked, completely ignoring the question. He didn't want to think of his mistake any more than he needed to. 

"You haven't said where you're going." He said after Gibbs hesitated. "Somewhere nice?! He continued as he threw over the table. The whole bar became quiet as James spoke up loudly. "So, am I worthy to serve under captain Jack Sparrow?" He asked with scorn in his voice, before aiming his pistol at the poorly hidden man. "Or should I just shoot you now?" He continued.

Jack hired him, but James simply smirked and went to shoot him anyway, but was stopped by the other new crewmembers. This resulted into a wild barfight. It was during this fight that Elizabeth arrived. Seeing her brother-in-law fighting and remembering how much he had broken Catherine's heart by leaving her, anger quickly took over and she joined the fight as well. At the end of it, she and James almost stood back-to-back.

"Come on, then! Who wants some?! Form an orderly line and I'll have you one-by-one! Come on, who's first?" James asked drunkenly, until a pissed Elizabeth grabbed the bottle out of his hands and hit him on the head with it, knocking him out. Several men looked at her. "I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself." She shouted, not even really lying. The men cheered, before they took James outside and threw him into the mud. Elizabeth stayed after the other men left and approached him once they were gone.

"I bet that really hurt your massive ego, didn't it?" She asked coldly, not even bothering to disguise her voice now. James slowly looked up, his face now covered in mud. "Elizabeth? What are you doing here?" He asked. "I could ask you the same thing, but then I remember you leaving my sister without even saying goodbye." She hissed. "Catherine? Is she alright?" He asked and she snorted. "Oh, now you care?" She scoffed as James slowly got up.

"Not that it really matters. She's missing." She continued and despite her anger at him, she could see this immediately worried him. Neither of them noticed Beckett's right-hand man spying on them. Seeing them leave, he was about to follow, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, he got knocked out by the butt of a sword. "Don't you know its rude to spy?" His assailant asked, before following the two themselves.

At the docks, Elizabeth got Jack's attention by loudly calling his name. "Come to join my crew, lad? Welcome aboard." He said, not recognising her. "I'm here to find the man I love." She continued, making him and Gibbs stop in surprise. "I'm deeply flattered, but my first and only love is the sea." Jack said as James threw up. "I meant William Turner." Elizabeth replied after rolling her eyes. Finally realising who she was, Jack turned around. "Elizabeth." He whispered, before quietly ordering Gibbs to hide the rum. 

He remembered very well what happened last time Elizabeth got her hands on a stash of rum with Catherine. After trying to distract her, Jack finally told her that Will was now a member of the _Flying Dutchman._ A drunk James scoffed at this, pulling the pirate's attention. "You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?" He asked. "You hired me. Can't help it your standards are lax." James scoffed. 

"You smell funny. I wonder what Catherine would say if she saw you like this." Jack sneered and James glared at him, before Elizabeth interrupted. "Jack, all I want is to find Will." She said. Getting an idea, Jack started to tell her about the chest they were looking for, Pintel and Ragetti telling her that it contained the still beating heart of Davy Jones. Jack took over again and said that whoever held the heart could command Jones to do whatever he or she wanted him to do.

Showing her his compass and telling her that it led the owner to whatever they wanted most. Convincing Elizabeth to make it point to where the heart was, the compass finally worked for the first time in weeks and the crew of the _Pearl_ got ready to sail. About to get aboard, Elizabeth heard a familiar voice call out. "Wait! Wait for me!" Charles shouted as he ran towards them. "Charles? You're coming too?" Elizabeth asked in surprise. "Who's this?" Jack asked. "This is Charles. He's a friend." Elizabeth answered

The man in question seemed to ignore her in favour of glaring at James. "Well, a friend of Lizzie is hopefully a friend of mine. Welcome aboard." Jack said , but Charles was still glaring at James "You're coming too? Great. As if this couldn't get any better." He said. "You know each other? Elizabeth asked. "Unfortunately." Charles replied. Elizabeth took a really good look at him.

The slender figure and hands, the weird low voice of his, the fact of him looking familiar to her. It all came together and she hit herself for not realising it sooner. "Alright, if we're going to do this, something needs to happen first." Charles said, before punching James in the face. He got knocked down asJack and his crew laughed. "What was that for?" James asked. Charles glared at him and took off his hat, making him and the others gasp and stare. 

"Take. A. Wild. Guess." Catherine spat as she glared at her husband, ignoring the shocked pirates and Elizabeth behind her


	4. Talks and arguments

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.

"Catherine! What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked in shock. "Looking after you. What do you think I'm doing?" Her older sister asked sarcastically in return and she had to concede at that. "But why did you disappear?" She asked. "That's a long story and I really don't want to get into it right now. Mr. Mercer was watching you from the pub, so I suggest we go before he wakes up." Catherine said

"Before he wakes up?" Elizabeth repeated in confusion. "I may have knocked him out." Catherine admitted a bit sheepishly and her younger sister let out a snort at that as James slowly stood back up. "Catherine? Is that you?" He asked. "No, Mr. Norrington. I'm very clearly her ghost." Catherine said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "Great. Both sisters on my ship." Jack muttered as he realised they were both coming. "Hey, don't forget that I still owe you a way to immortality." Catherine reminded him.

"Good point. Miss Swann, Mrs. Norrington." Jack conceded with a bow and a grand gesture to the ship. "Jack, do me one favour and never call me that again." Catherine replied, making sure that James could hear her and seeing him flinch from the corner of her eyes. "Of course, miss Swann #2." The pirate captain said a smirk, seeing what she was doing. 

Holding out her hand to her sister like they had done when they had been small and had pretended to be each other's escort to a ball, Elizabeth immediately smiled and put her own hand into her sister's as they walked on board. "Hey, you two!" Catherine called at seeing two of the pirates who had kidnapped her sister two years ago and were now holding a goat.

Both men tensed up. "Give that goat to the former commodore, will you?" She asked innocently and they smirked, before going to do so. "You do realise they were part of the pirates who kidnapped me?" Elizabeth asked. "Yes, but my hand still hurts from punching James, so I'm going to get my revenge later." She replied, making her sister chuckle again. "You do know that you'll have to talk to him soon, right?" She asked. "I don't want to." Catherine pouted. Elizabeth sighed in both frustration and sympathy. 

"You'll be on the same ship as each other. You can't ignore him forever." She said. "No, but I can ignore him for tonight. Now, what were you talking about?" Catherine asked and Elizabeth sighed again, before telling her what Jack had told her about Will, the chest and the compass. "Can i try it?" Catherine asked curiously and her sister nodded giving it to her. 

They watched it go back-and-forth, before settling on something behind them. Subtly glancing in the direction, they saw James standing there. Catherine looked back at the compass and closed it harshly. "Well, it's clearly broken." She said and Elizabeth gave her a sympathetic smile as she took the compass back. They ate a bit as the ship set sail, Catherine really ignoring age avoiding James, before going to sleep in a room Jack gave them. They had to share a bed, but they didn't mind and quickly fell asleep.

\-----------------------

_She was in the misty surroundings again. This time, Catherine started to run through it impatiently and saw the figure lying on the ground once more. She ran towards them, trying to actually reach them this time before she woke up again. This time, she managed to get closer to them and could just make out a mob of curls, before she was knocked back again._

_Different images flashed through her mind than the first time she had these dreams, going faster than they had last time as they went by and it made her dizzy_ _. She could just make out people fighting each other wildly, a heart in a chest and a ship getting attacked by giant tentacles. The last thing she saw was a dark figure stabbing someone in navy clothing._

_\--------------------_

She shot up straight from the bed, her movement waking up Elizabeth. "Katie? What is it?" She immediately asked in concern, sitting up as well. "It's nothing." Catherine answered, rubbing her eyes. "No, it's not nothing. You're having dreams again, aren't you?" Elizabeth asked and her sister's silence said enough. "But the _Pearl_ is normal again. We're literally on it. What could you have dreams about?" The younger sister asked again. "I don't know. When I dreamt before, it was always the same. It was terrifying, but always the same." Catherine replied.

"Now, on the other hand, the beginning is the same. I am surrounded by mist and walk forwards. I see a figure lying on the ground motionless ahead of me and try to get to them, but I'm always knocked back by something powerful before I get to them. I do get closer each time, but I get knocked back and see different flashes of things to come and none of them are good." She continued.

Elizabeth gave her a concerned look as she took a deep breath to calm herself down after the weird dream and finally got up from the bed after several minutes. "I'm going to the upper deck for some fresh air. Go back to sleep." She said as she put her shirt, boots and coat on. "Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked and Catherine nodded, before walking out.

Walking out on deck, she silently nodded to the few crewmen still awake and walked towards the railing, seeing the sun slowly coming up in the distance. She heard heavy footsteps approaching her, followed by the one voice she didn't want to hear. "Are you alright?" James asked as he joined her. "Since when do you care?" She asked harshly, making him flinch back at the venom in her voice. "Since you're my wife." He answered and she laughed coldly. "Oh, now you remember that little detail?" She asked. 

"Where was that conscience in the past few months? Did you drink it away with your precious rum?" She asked mockingly. "Catherine...." James started, reaching out to her, but she hit his arm away. "Don't touch me. You lost that right when you wrote that stupid letter instead of saying goodbye to me in person. At least, I was trying to save Elizabeth when I ran away. You were just running away from your problems." She said. 

"Catherine." James started again, but she held up a hand and interrupted him. "I would've supported you and helped you, no matter what. Yes, you made a giant mistake that cost many lives, but did you ever think what the consequences of your actions would affect me?" She asked and she could see in his eyes that he hadn't. She scoffed loudly. "You didn't, did you? Well, let me tell you." She said

"I became a social pariah. People whispered behind my back and I felt their accusing looks. Someone threw in our window and shouted about how he hated me, before getting arrested. I cried myself to sleep that night, wishing that you were there with me." She said, tears of anger and grief rolling down. James looked at her in shock, tears appearing in his own eyes as he realised his mistake. "I sent a sailor to find you. Can you imagine what Ifreely when I heard you were getting drunk in Tortuga while I was getting spat on for your mistakes?" She asked

It felt like you had taken my already ripped out heart and was cruelly stomping on it for good measure." She hissed. "I'm sorry." James breathed. "Well, guess what? I don't want to hear it." She growled. "It's funny. Now that I look at you, I don't see the man who became the scourge of piracy or who nobly fought the cursed crew of this very ship. I just see a big, fat, drunk, _coward_." She spat and he flinched back 

She glared at him, grey eyes full of fire, before she straightened her back. "I'm going back below deck, but not before asking you one last question: why wasn't I good enough for you?" She asked and he found he couldn't answer it. She scoffed and walked away, past the eavesdropping crew and to her and Elizabeth's room. James watched her go, a single tear rolling down. "I'm so sorry." He whispered to no one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not so much arguing as Catherine finally speaking her mind, but still. 
> 
> Read and review. See you next time


	5. The start of an uncomfortable journey

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise.

It had been about a day or two since they left Tortuga and Catherine was already fed-up.

James had admittedly been smart enough to stay away from her and Elizabeth for now and not bother either of them after their little "talk" early in the morning on the first day but she still caught him looking at her several times. Every time she saw the sadness and regret in those green eyes, she'd feel her heart break a bit, before she forcefully pushed those feelings down.

He had left her, simply because he had made a mistake and he had fled. Every time her mind tried to convince her to listen, she reminded herself of the heartbreak she had felt when her father had told her he had left town and wasn't planning on coming back anytime soon. Not even for her. She reminded herself of the many times she had wished he was there with her and he wasn't. If she was really honest with herself, she'd realise that she kept herself angry, because she had no idea what she would do if she let her anger go.

What also slightly annoyed her was her sister. Don't get her wrong, she was happy to be reunited with Elizabeth after a few weeks of hiding herself in Port Royal and even on the merchant ship. She hadn't known if there were any of Beckett's little spies on there. She had knocked out Mercer in Tortuga, but the fact that he was there in the first place worried her.

What actually annoyed her right now, was that since she revealed she had been having weird and bad dreams again to her sister, Elizabeth kept an annoyingly close eye on her throughout the next few days. She understood that she was just worried and quite frankly, so was she concerning the dreams, but she was a fully grown woman and she could handle herself.

She was with allies and as safe as she possibly could be. She really didn't need her sister worrying about her while Will was actually the one in real danger on the " _Flying Dutchman._ " Elizabeth had already told her what Jack had said to her about Will's current situation just before she had joined them in Tortuga and despite that Jack wasn't the worst man alive as that title very clearly belonged to that bastard Beckett, she didn't believe that he had nothing to do with how exactly Will ended up on that cursed ship.

She had made sure to give him a very disbelieving look as Elizabeth had been telling the story to her and the fact he didn't dare to look her in the eyes, made her more suspicious about the circumstances of Will's exit. She knew the guy. He would have stopped at nothing to save Elizabeth, so for him to suddenly decide to join the crew of Davy Jones made absolutely no sense to her. 

On the third day, she was sitting on one of the stairs leading up to the wheel, looking out of the ocean in thought. "Penny for your thoughts? Elizabeth suddenly asked as she sat down next to her sister, effectively blocking of that way to both the upper and lower part of the deck. "I just wonder how father is. I saw a vision of him getting arrested you-know-who and warned him of it." Catherine said 

"I gave the bastard a letter that gave him dominion over Port Royal on the condition that he let him leave and leave us alone." She continued. "And you believe he'll keep his word about father?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically. "Considering I knocked out Mercer in Tortuga, no. That's why I waited a few hours until I had seen him leave on a ship incognito, looking like a regular person." Catherine answered and Elizabeth grinned. "There's my smart sister." She commented and both sisters laughed, before the older one stopped.

"I just hope he stayed safe. I told him to go and live as unassuming as possible and leave his position of governor behind." She said. "And he did it?" Elizabeth asked in shock, knowing how much his position meant to their father. "Lizzie, father would walk to hell and back if it meant we were safe. I just wish I could actually say that of other people." She said, briefly looking down at where James was.

He was mopping the deck and had finally gotten rid of the disgustingly filthy wig he had worn. Actually, if she looked closely, he was using the wig to mob the deck. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Elizabeth followed her life of sight and smiled ruefully. "You know. I used to be jealous of you. As far as people knew, you were the perfect daughter and I was just there." She said

"I was always considered too wild and adventurous for a proper match, while you had the heart of the most eligible bachelor in town." She said. "Yes and look how that bachelor acted once he was married. Maybe, I should have married Groves, even though he was carrying a torch for you." Catherine scoffed. "He was? Why did he never act on it?" Elizabeth asked. "Because the only ones who didn't realise you and Will belonged together were you, Will and maybe father for the sake of protocol." Her older sister answered, giving her a nudge.

Elizabeth laughed, before looking down. "At least, your wedding wasn't interrupted. I should've been married by now." She muttered and Catherine wrapped her arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm. "Come on, Lizzie. Think happy thoughts. You'll probably get your wedding one day, just not in the way you had expected it." She said in an effort to cheer her up

"Then how will I get it?" She asked and Catherine thought for a minute, trying to think of the silliest way. "You'll be.... fighting Davy Jones' crew side-by-side when Will suddenly thinks it's a good idea to marry you. Admit it: that's something he'd do." She said and Elizabeth had to agree with a snort as she desperately tried to suppress her smile at the mental image.

"Who's officiating the wedding?" She asked. "I don't know. Barbossa?" Her older sister offered and she burst out into laughter, the sound echoing. "You're terrible, Katie." She said as she stood up and went to look at the Letters of Mark she had stolen from Beckett. Catherine smiled, but stayed sitting, feeling James's eyes on her again and trying her best to ignore him. Jack came by and stole the letters, playing with them at first until he saw who signed it. "Beckett." He hissed, getting Gibbs' attention as the man passed by.

"Yes, They're signed. Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company." Elizabeth said. Jack made an disgusted face at those words and Catherine never agreed with him more. "Will was working for Beckett and never said a word." Gibbs muttered. "He also broke a notorious pirate out of jail two years ago. Don't underestimate how far he's willing to go for my sister." Catherine reminded them, looking at Jack. 

Conceding at that, Jack and Gibbs realised Beckett wanted the chest as well. "If the company controls the chest, they controls the sea. This is bad for every mother's son what calls himself a pirate." Gibbs said, before leaving to give orders. Jack asked how she got the Letters. "Persuasion." Elizabeth answered. "Friendly?" Jack asked. "Definitely not." She snapped.

"Also helped that he had two guns aimed at him. He has a very shootable face." Catherine commented from her spot and Jack barely suppressed a snort at that. "Will strikes a deal, yet you were the one with the prize: full pardon. "Commission as a privateer on behalf of England and the East India Trading Company." Jack read and on the other side of the deck, James quickly paid attention at hearing this. For the first time since he came on board, Catherine wasn't his focus as he began to make his own plans. 

Jack refused to give the letters back and after clearly refraining from doing something to him, Elizabeth walked away. Catherine watched her go to the other side of the deck and straightened up at seeing James join her as well. "It's a curious thing. There was a time I loved watching your sister looking like that while thinking of me." He said with a smirk

Elizabeth sighed in frustration at having him next to her. "I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered in defence. "Oh, I think you do." He said. "Don't be absurd. I trust him, that's all. And besides, between the two of you, he's the only one who has never broken a promise to my sister. He goes about them in a rather roundabout way, but he never breaks them, unlike you." Elizabeth snapped back

James quickly lost his smile at that painful reminder. Giving his sister-in-law a glare and a scowl and seeing that Catherine was about to stand up from her place at the stairs and come their way to make him go away from her little sister by either another verbal lashing or her sword, he walked away. "So you never wondered how your dearest fiancé got on the cursed ship in the first place?" He asked to have a final word. Seeing her surprised face, it was clear he won this round and he smirked as he walked away.

He looked at Catherine and saw her ignoring his looks again. He wanted nothing more than to go back to where they had been once, but he knew it was practically impossible. His mind went back to the Letters of Mark. Maybe, if he managed to get them, he would get his position back. He could use it to protect Catherine and Elizabeth from Beckett. But first, he had to get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus. I hit writer's block with this story, but here's a new chapter
> 
> Read and review. See you next time.


	6. Talks and chests

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise

"Catherine?"

The woman in question immediately stiffened up at hearing James's voice from behind her and quickly turned to glare at him, having gone below deck to escape her sister's worrying. They had been sailing over the sea for a couple of days now and her dreams hadn't let up, but she was slowly getting closer to the bound person and the images were getting clearer.

However, Elizabeth was still incredibly worried and hovered over her until she couldn't take it anymore and now, she had this to deal with her ex-husband wanting to talk."I thought I was very clear last time we talked, Mr. Norrington. We have nothing more to talk about. You left me disgraced simply because you couldn't deal with your own failure and the fact that the invincible commodore was not as invincible as he had thought." She snapped. He flinched back and sighed. "I know, but that's not what this is about." He said

She immediately raised an uncaring eyebrow in reply, never a good sign. "I really don't care what it is about. The love I always had when I listened to your every word as you told me stories left me with you. I really don't care about anything you have to say, so do us both a favour and go away. Go scrub the deck again or something. I'm sure Jack has some chores that need to be done." She said, before starting to walk away. 

He grabbed her hand to stop her and she immediately turned around and harshly pushed him against the wall, her arm pressing against his throat. "I told you not to touch me. You've lost that right a long time ago." She hissed, before pulling back from him and turning to walk away again. "It's about the chest. If we can get it, we can go back to the way things were." He said quickly.

She stopped walking at his words. "Hold on. Let me get this straight for a minute: you want me to go behind the back of my sister, the one person who has had my back ever since we were young children and that all to get the disgusting heart of the most evil creature ever to roam these seas and that all in the vain and quite honestly nonexistent hope that things will just go back the way they used to? Congratulations, Mr. Norrington. You actually start to sound like a pirate." She scoffed and he flinched at hearing her say it that way

She sighed deeply at seeing him flinch, a part of her heart calming her voice down. "Things will never ever go back the way they were two years ago, James and it would be absolutely foolish of you to think otherwise. Even if I did betray the only family I have left here at the moment, my sister and almost brother-in-law would be fugitives and my father would be gone with Beckett in his place." She said.

"I am not going to live the high life again, knowing that I left my sister to die at hands the hands of Beckett or even Jones. Something you should've known after what I did two years ago. I betrayed you and father and went after undead pirates with nothing but a sword, a blacksmith apprentice and an infamous pirate to save her, so do you seriously believe that I'd go behind her back like this?" She asked. 

He didn't answer her question, but she knew he had gotten the message without even turning to look back at him. She wouldn't betray her sister, just because he thought she could actually ignore what had happened and the heartache he had given her in the past few months. Even at the height of their marriage, she still would've chosen Elizabeth over him if she needed any help and after everything that had been going on since then, it was an even easier choice. She walked away once more and he let her this time. 

"There you are. Are you alright?" Elizabeth immediately asked as her older sister finally appeared back on deck and Catherine quickly sighed in answer, ready for the henning and hovering to begin once again. "I'm fine, Lizzie. You-know-who tried to talk to me below deck and I showed him what's what." She replied, mostly truthful as she decided to say nothing about his foolish request 

Elizabeth immediately smiled in pride at her big sister. "That's the Catherine I know." She said as she wrapped her arms around her and they sat on the stairs again. "Did he say anything?" She asked and Catherine sighed deeply. "Just this incredibly foolish notion about wanting things going back to the way they were. As if I could ignore the past few months." She scoffed derisively 

"I honestly think the rum has quite addled his brain while he was gone." She continued with a roll of her eyes and Elizabeth immediately let out a small laugh, but Catherine could see that she was troubled about something and tilted her head in question, but her younger sister shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it right now. Her older sister hummed, but agreed, talking about things from their youth and making Elizabeth smile at the happy memories. That's when Jack joined them as well, sitting at Catherine's feet

"My intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled." He said, wiggling his eyebrows. "Thank you." Catherine replied dramatically. If even Jack could see it, then something was seriously wrong. "I just thought I'd be married by now. I'm so ready to be married." Elizabeth finally said and her sister wrapped her arm around her shoulder in comfort

Jack offered her a drink and then to marry them right then and there, earning him a smack on the back of his head from Catherine. Elizabeth got up and he followed her. Catherine watched from a distance and frowned as they got very close to each other. Like, kissing distance close, before Gibbs was heard telling them that the island they had been looking for was in the distance 

"What the hell was that all about!?" She demanded to know as she joined her sister while people got ready to lower a boat into the water. "I don't know what you're talking about." Elizabeth denied. "Lizzie, I barely could've put my hand between your heads, you were so close. Just because my marriage ended up like shit and was a very bad example, doesn't mean that you should follow it before you even said "I do." Catherine replied and Elizabeth glared at her as they joined, Jack, Pintel, Ragetti and unfortunately James to go to the island 

It was an incredible tight fit inside the small boat with Catherine sitting in the back of the boat, Elizabeth and James sitting in front of her, the rowing Pintel and Ragetti in front of them and Jack all the way in the front. While rowing towards the island, the two formerly undead pirates started to stupidly argue about how the word "kraken" was pronounced

That was until Catherine, who was incredibly fed up with their arguing and James's backwards glances, finally snapped. "Does it matter what it's called?! It's going to kill us anyway if you don't shut up and row right now!" She said loudly, making them jump. "Aye-aye, ma'am." Pintel said, slightly panicked by her outburst and the very true fact as they started to row faster. "Idiots." Catherine muttered as they went on

Arriving at the island, Elizabeth immediately grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it. "I thought you said you were alright." She whispered. "Lizzie, I've been stuck on a boat with my ex-husband for the past several days, my former life is completely gone for good, we're being chased by the royal navy and another group of undead pirates and even if we manage to find this chest, we have no idea what to do next, so forgive me if my nerves are a bit shot." Catherine muttered and Elizabeth had to admit she made a good point

Squeezing her hand again, Elizabeth pulled out the compass as they walked inwards, leaving Pintel and Ragetti to watch the boat while they were gone. Walking through ankle-high water, James suddenly noticed something as he carried the shovel. "I didn't expect anyone to be here." He said at noticing a building in the distance, careful to keep his distance from the two women.

Turning to give him a brief glare, Elizabeth saw the same thing and smiled ruefully. "There's not." She told him, wrapping her arm around Catherine. "You know this place?" James asked. "Stories. Isle Crusces. The church came to the island and brought salvation and disease and death. They said the priest had to bury everybody one-by-one. He went mad and hung himself." She explained. "I'm surprised you didn't know." Catherine mocked him.

Arriving further into the island, Elizabeth let go of her sister and walked back-and-forth several times as the compass kept pointing in different directions. Seeing it point at Jack again, she gave up. "It doesn't work and it certainly doesn't show you what you want most." She denied as she plopped down. Catherine raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Jack checked on the compass. "Yes, it does. You're sitting on it." He said, waving her away before James started to dig. It took several minutes, before the shovel hit something.

Wiping the sand away, they pulled a big chest out. Opening it, they found papers at first, before finding a smaller chest and pulling it out. Listening closely, they heard a heartbeat. "It's real." Elizabeth said. "You actually were telling the truth." James said. "I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised." Jack said, before they heard a very familiar voice.

"With good reason!" A soaking wet Will Turner said loudly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait
> 
> Read and review. See you next time


End file.
